Do you have an avid foodie on your holiday gift list? Does he or she love working with chili spices? If so, you may want to consider making that person a dried chili pepper wreath. In my experience, dried chili pepper wreaths make wonderful gifts and pair well with food related gift baskets. They also look great hanging in Southwestern themed kitchens. Here’s what you need to know in order to make one:
Dried Chili Pepper Wreath Making Supplies
In order to make a dried chili pepper wreath, you will need 150 chili peppers, a 12 inch tri-wire wreath form, a package of 24 gauge floral wire, a roll of 2 inch wide double-face craft ribbon and a head of black garlic. You’ll also need two heads of white garlic, a large sewing needle, a spool of carpet thread and a spray can of clear polyurethane. If you are sensitive to the capsaicin inherent in chili peppers, you may also want to think about donning a pair of latex gloves while you work. In most instances, you will be able to buy some of your wreath making supplies at your local farmer’s market or grocery store.
Drying the Chili Peppers
Begin the chili pepper drying process by grabbing your sewing needle and the spool of carpet thread. Thread the needle with the carpet thread. Then run the needle through the center of each chili pepper. Keep in mind that the chili peppers will remain on the carpet thread throughout the entire wreath making process. As such, if you have a color scheme in mind, you’ll want to string your chili peppers accordingly. You’ll also want to make sure that you leave 1 inch of space between each chili pepper. I have found that doing so helps the chili peppers to dry evenly. Continue until all of the chili peppers have been strung with thread. Next, hang them up in a warm, dry area and let them dry out. The length of drying time will vary greatly based on the air’s temperature and moisture content. In some instances, the entire drying process could take a month or more.
Assembling the Wreath
Once the chili peppers have dried out, coat them twice with clear polyurethane. In my experience, doing so will help to preserve the chili peppers and give them a nice sheen. When the chili peppers’ clear polyurethane coating has dried completely, you can slide the peppers closer to each other. That way, the carpet string won’t show through on your wreath.
Proceed by affixing your strings of dried chili peppers onto the metal wreath with the aid of the floral wire. Based on personal experience, I would recommend that you secure the chili pepper strands to the wreath in 2 inch intervals. I have found that doing so will help to keep the finished wreath intact. When all of the chili peppers have been attached to the wreath, take out the heads of garlic. Liberally coat each one with two coats of clear polyurethane and let it dry completely. Afterward, using floral wire, craft ribbon and the garlic heads, create a decorative bow. Then attach the decorative bow to the wreath. Once that’s done, your dried chili pepper wreath will be ready for use.
Source: Personal Experience
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